Car underframe



g- 1938- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,683

CAR UNDERFRAME Filed March 12, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 wk m mi m E 0 WWW w4v 5 EA W Aug.-23,1938. w. eENSTERMACHER ETAL 2 7 683 .CAR UNDERFRAMEFiled Marh 12, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I v R h\ IN VENTORS & Jh ND.[ZwJrEEn Mcnc-e.

Bow/r rEeflJe/MNE/a BY ATTORNEYJ g- 1933- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL2,127,633

CAR UNDERFRAME Filed March 12, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTORS BWATEEESUMNEE.

ATTORNEYS Aug. 23, 9 8- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,683.

CAR UNDERFRAME Filed March 12, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 mllgm l INVEN TORSe/o/wvflfZ/vsrEeMAc/vEe.

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ATTORNEYS Aug. 23,1938- J. D. FENSTERMACHER ET AL 2,127,533

CAR UNDERFRAME 7 Filed March 12, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

BY Mgk ATTORNEYJ:

Patented Aug. 23, 1938 CAR UNDERFRAIME John D. Fenstermacher, Piedmont,and Bowater B. Sumner, Burlingame, Calif.

Application March 12, 1935, Serial No. 10,696 2 Claims. (O1. 105 415)Our present invention relates to various detailed features of structuralimprovements on underframes, such as used on railway cars and the like.In general, the improved features, as

will be particularly pointed out in the claims relate to supporting andlocking means for piping to prevent longitudinal or transverse movementthereof, center plate king pin bearing means and also means for bracingthe bolsters in center members as structural improvements in the bolsterends and means for looking and preventing longitudinal and transversemovement of the side sills.

For a comprehensive exposition of the patentable features ofimprovement, reference is to be made to the following specification, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a plan view of a railway car underframeembodying features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevationwith parts shown in section in the interest of clearness; Fig. 3 is anenlarged vertical longitudinal section taken on the staggered line 33 ofFig. 1; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are, respectively, enlarged plan, side and endelevations of one end of the underframe; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are enlargeddetail views, respectively, in side elevation, end view and fragmentarytop plan illustrating the striker portion of one of the end frames ofthe car underframe and showing also an arm integral with the end frameand securing means for supporting a valve or piping therefrom; Fig. 10is a face view of a supporting arm formed integrally with the end frame;Fig. 11 is another view of such supporting arm, the view being taken online II-H of Fig. '7; Figs. 12, 13 and 14 are, respectively, an endview, side view and top view on an enlarged scale of a portion of thebody bolster illustrating in particular how the ends thereof areenlarged and also showing means for locking the side sill sectionsagainst both longitudinal and transverse movement; Figs. 15, 16 and 17are enlarged views, respectively, in side elevation, cross section andplan sectional view of the body bolster forming part of the end frame,in particular illustrating the locking means adapted to prevent thelongitudinal and axial movement of piping relatively to such bolster,Figs. 16 and 17 being sections on the correspondingly numbered sectionlines of Fig. Figs. 18 and 19 are enlarged sectional detail views ofportions of the end frame, showing in particular the center plate andking pin bearing, Fig. 18 being a transverse section and Fig. 19 being alongitudinal section, the broken lines in Fig. 19 representing thecompanion surface of a truck bolster for coaction with the center plateand king pin; Fig. 20 is a diagram illustrating the distribution ofstresses by the bracing members of the end frames.

Referring in detail to the drawings,.the underframe comprises as itsmain elements a pair of end frames AA spaced apart by a center sillcomposed of members EB and transverse supports on needle beams C, sidesills D-D and end sills EE.

In construction of railway car underframes, it is usually necessary toprovide adequate means for supporting piping such as that used inconnection with the air brake equipment, heating apparatus, etc.I-Ieretofore, pipe supports have involved an assembly of separate partsbolted or otherwise attached to the underframe. An inherent fault withsuch separately attached parts is that they readily become loosened andpermit movement or vibration of the piping. This is objectionable as itloosens the joints and results in air leakage, or interferes'with theproper functioning of the mediums transmitted through pipes.

One feature of our invention contemplates the provision of a rigidsupport for valves and piping. This aspect'of the invention is wellillustrated in Figs. 1, 4, 5 and '1 to 11 inclusive. As

shown in these figures, we provide an arm I!) which is cast with andforms an integral part of the forward or striker portion of the endframe. This arm is so shaped as to form a seat for the hexagonalshoulder or abutment M of an angle valve l2 forming part of a typicalknown type of air brake equipment. Such angle valve has anannular'grooved portion Hi. This grooved portion forms a convenientmeans for coaction with a 'U bolt l8, which we secure by means of bolts2|],as shown, to the arm II]. This arm, as best'illustrated in Figs. 10and 11, has a recessed seat 22 formed therein, two walls of the recessbeing inclined at an angle to one another to match the angularity of apair of adjacent faces of the hexagonal portion of the valve.

As thus arranged, it will be apparent that the valve can be locked invarious angular positions and that the U-bolt connection will preventaxial movement of the valve or the pipe attached thereto.

In car underframe design and construction, it is necessary to providefor the accommodation of undergear piping. The common practiceheretofore has been to merely provide openings in the frame structure topermit the pipe to loosely pass therethrough. In practice, vibratorymovement of the piping frequently causes the same to abut or strike thesurfaces of the openings through which the pipe passes, thus causingobjectionable noise and wear. Continued vibration of the pipe againstthe frame structure frequently causes pipe breakage or leakage.

We overcome this objectionable feature in the present improvedunderframe by providing a substantial support and an enlarged bearingarea for the pipe and also include locking means for preventingsubstantially all relative motion between the pipe and the framestructure.

Such locking means is best shown in Figs, 12 to 17 inclusive. As thereinshown, the air brake or train pipe, for example, indicated at 24, passesthrough a suitable perforated boss 26, providing a generous bearingsurface for the pipe. The opening in this boss has formed therein atapered keyway 28 for receiving alocking key 30, the outer face of whichis tapered so as to wedgingly engage the keyway. This key is providedwith teeth 32 adapted to grip or make a substantially non-slippingengagement with the pipe.

The key is specially constructed, however, to prevent the teeth fromdigging too deeply into the pipe. To this end, the key is slotted, asindicated at 34, so as to provide a certain amount of resiliency, in theouter portion 36 thereof which engages the inclined face of the keyseat. This slotted resilient type of key permits of a limited yieldingaction whereby the grip between the key and the pipe can be adjusted toa nicety without unduly digging into the surface of the pipe as will beunderstood. The extreme end of the key is split, as indicated in Fig.16, and the extremities 36 thereof are adapted to be spread apart, so asto prevent the key from jarring loose. It is apparent that this type oflock will prevent both axial and transverse movement of the pipe andwill form an effective relatively rigid support and thus practicallyeliminate the possibility of vibration and consequent wear on thepiping.

It is customary in railway car design to provide a center plate or kingpin bearing to permit the trucks to rotate relatively to the body orsuperstructure of the car when passing over stretches of track includingcurves or other irregularities. Heretofore, the center plate or king pinbearing has usually been a circular flat surface.

The old structure was objectionable because when a car is in motionthere is a rocking motion of the superstructure which is deliberatelypermitted for ease of riding, springs being provided to provide for suchrocking motion. But, this rocking motion has a detrimental effect on theking pins or center plates heretofore used. In the old structures, theweight of the superstructure and its load are carried alternately on thediametrically opposed edges of the fiat center plate. This sets up anunbalanced condition causing overstressing of the metal in the top orbody of the center plate and in the lower or truck bolster center plate.Such overstressing results frequently in the fracture or breakage of oneor the other members. To overcome this inherent weakness in the centerplate or king pin bearings of the prior art, we have devised an improvedtype of bearing, wherein there is a substantially uniform distributionof the load over the bearing surface. A preferred embodiment of ourimproved center plate or king pin bearing is best shown in Figs. 3, 5,18 and 19.

In Figs. 18 and '19, theseat or bearing on the truck bolster is shown inbroken lines at 38. This seat has a concave surface, a portion of whichcorresponds substantially to the surface of a sphere. Integrally formedon the underside of the bolster portion 46 of each end frame, we providea center plate, as indicated at 42, whose under convex surface 44corresponds to the surface of the sphere to match the similar sphericalseat 38 on the truck.

There is an upstanding boss 46 formed integral with the center plate.This is provided with an aperture 48 to receive a king pin whichpreferably makes a loose fit. There is preferably provision forclearance between the truck bearing and the concave center plate. Thisclearance is indicated at 50 in Figs. 18 and 19. This allows for freedomof rocking movement of the underframe relatively to the truck frame.Under such rocking conditions, the bearing surface of the underside ofthe center plate and the coacting surface of the king pin bearing arealways in contact. Thus, the load is distributed over a generous areaand there being no separation between the two at any point there is nochance for overstressing the metal as in frames heretofore in generaluse.

As will be apparent from Figs. 4 and 20, our improved underframe is wellsuited for distributing the forces in such a way as to relieve thecenter plate and king pin from excessive stresses.

Each end frame includes longitudinally extending upstanding web portions52 which are integral with top and bottom flanges 5 3 and 56. The webs52 merge into diagonally extending webs 58 which in turn merge at thezones indil cated at 60-50 with a transversely extending web 62 of thebody bolster portion of the end frame. From the zones B06ll, diagonalwebs 6464 converge toward the points of juncture 66-66 with the centersill members 3-13.

This arrangement of the component parts of the end frame provides abracing system whereby any force directed against the end of theunderframe is separated and a portion shunted around the center plateand king pin and returned to the center member, where it again joins themain force to be transmitted to the center sill. This feature has theadvantage that the shunted force joins the main force at the zone wherethe center member is of maximum section.

The distribution of the forces is indicated somewhat diagrammatically inFig. 20. The two parallel arrows 12 represent a force applied endwise tothe underframe. This may be regarded as being resolved into forces 10'and :0 The two forces p can be regarded as being transmitted in thediagonal direction through the instrumentality of the diagonal webs 58and their associated flanges. Part of the main force 12 2 can beregarded as being transmitted through the web portions 52 and thence, asindicated by the arrows p p to the points 66 and then to the center sillmembers B. The shunted portions p'-p' of the force will be shuntedaround, as indicated in Fig. 20, part of this force being dissipatd atthe junction points marked 69 in Fig. 4. And then this shunted force, asindicated by the arrows 11 -42 will be shunted around and joined withthe main force represented by arrows p and p This distribution of theforces is such that the various members take only small increments ofthe total force and the arrangement of the component elements of the endframe is such that the center plate and king pin are largely relieved ofstrains due to the shunting of the forces around them in the mannerexplained. This arrangement assists materially in preventing fracture orbreakage of the body bolster at its junction with the center member.In'the arrangement as illustrated, we provide a structure in which thevertical webs 68 at the ends of the braces are enlarged so as to form acontinuous vertical web or bracket from the top flange to the bottomflange and bolster or center member at the zone of junction of thesebraces with such members.

In conventional underframes of the prior art, considerable difl'lcultyis experienced due to the lack of suitable provision to prevent thedisplacement of the side sills relatively to the other parts of theunderframe. Moreover, a blow or force acquired at the end of theunderframe tends to produce longitudinal movement of the superstructureand side sills transversely through the bearing at the end of thebolster member. Because of the limited area, in a practical sense, it isimpossible in the designs heretofore used to provide a suflicient numberof rivets to prevent longitudinal movement of the side sills and as aconsequence in the practical operation it is found that the rivets arefrequently sheared off. The frame of our invention overcomes theseshortcomings by the provision of means best shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 13to 18 inclusive.

Referring first to Figs. and 1'7, it will be observed that at the outerend of the body bolster portion of each underframe, we provide a pair ofparallel upstanding ribs 10 and 12. The spacing of these ribs issubstantially equal to the width of the bottom flange of the side sillD. As will be clear from the drawings, the ribs are disposedtransversely of the center line of the body bolster and are practicallyparallel with the longitudinal axis of the underframe.

Each inner rib 10 is provided with a laterally extending projection Mwhich coacts with a -notch 16 cut away or coped out of the lower flangeof the side sill member D. The weight of the load on the superstructureof the car will normally tend to hold the side sill section in theposition shown in Figs. 15 and 16 and thus it is clear thatthearrangement is such that the side sill members D are adequatelylocked against movements in a direction transverse to the length of theframe as well as against movement in the direction of the length of theframe. In addition, we may employ rivets 18, as illustrated. Thelongitudinal or transverse loads imposed on these rivets has a tendencyto shear them. This will be lessened and even if a certain amount ofstrain is imposed on them as the arrangement of ribs and projectionswill prevent the rivets from being sheared 01f.

Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive illustrate a modification in which the sidesills D are formed of Z-bars in place of angles, shown in Fig. 15. Inthis bracket-like enlargement, as indicated at IE! to interfit with thetop flange of the Z-bar and the projection for preventing relativelongitudinal movement between the side sill and the bolster will beformed on the outer rib, as indicated at 14 in Figs. 13 and 14.Substantially the same arrangement may also be used where the side sillsare formed of channel sections.

For preventing movement of the end sills E in a direction transverse totheir length, we provide ribs 80 and 82 which define a groove-like seatin the outer ends of the central portions of the respective end frame A.

While we have described quite precisely certain detailed features of theinvention herein disclosed, it is to be understood that the appendedclaims are to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limitingsense since various modifications may be made by those skilled in theart without departure from the scope thereof.

What we claim is:-

1. A car underframe comprising a cast metal end frame having a bolsterintegral therewith, side sills resting on and supported thereon,integral ribs formed on the bolster and holding the side sills againstmovement transverse to the side sills and said side sills having notchedportions and projections on the bolster interfitted therewith forholding said sills against lengthwise movement.

2. A car underframe comprising a cast metal end frame having a bolsterintegral therewith, side sills resting on and supported thereon,integral ribs formed on the bolster and holding the side sills againstmovement transverse to the side sills, said side sills being flangedstructural sections having their base flanges notched, and projectionson said bolster in interengagement with said notched flanges.

JOHN D. FENSTERMACHER.

BOWATER. B. SUMNER.

modification, one of the locking ribs will have a I

